SHORTLISTED FOR DOLMAN BEST TRAVEL BOOK AWARD 2008
BANNED IN THE SULTANATE OF OMAN

‘The madness of his venture – driving around the region with a friend – and the freshness of his picaresque writing about this well-trodden part of the world makes it compulsively readable.’

ANTHONY SATTIN
THE SUNDAY TIMES

‘Hemming offers […] a refreshing innocence and openness, a voracious appetite for experience and encounter that make him an honest and empathetic writer. He is funny with it. He offers punchy insights into subjects from Al Jazeera propaganda to misconceptions about the hijab. An encounter with a drunken, wife- beating, philandering bin Laden supporter in Jordan on the eve of the Iraq war is particularly good. […] Hemming is a fresh new voice, idealistic, engaging and human.’

JUSTIN MAROZZI
THE SPECTATOR

‘A once-in-a-lifetime journey, full of youthful ebullience and idealism, but self-aware and brave too.’

COLIN THUBRON
AUTHOR OF SHADOW OF THE SILK ROAD

‘The brilliantly-written account of a daring journey, by turns hilarious and poignant, and a timely antidote to current misconceptions about the Middle East. Essential reading.’

JASON ELLIOT
AUTHOR OF AN UNEXPECTED LIGHT

‘‘What am I doing here?’ is a question that plagues all travel writers. But in this exuberant and thoughtful account of a rollercoaster journey through the Middle East in the aftermath of 9/11, Henry Hemming has a handy answer: his purpose is not to write a travel book, but to paint. […] Hemming and his fellow artist and travelling companion, Al Braithwaite, set off […] on a voyage of artistic discovery that lands them in a series of misadventures by turns comic, erotic, poignant and life-threatening. […] Hemming does not pretend to any specialist knowledge. But the young artist/writer has a sensitive grasp of the essentials. Why? Because unlike the diplomats, politicians and newspaper editors who have got the Middle East so tragically wrong in recent years, he’s out there listening and talking to people. As a result Hemming’s portrait of the region sparkles with colour, originality and sharp insights.’

TOM PORTEOUS
THE EVENING STANDARD

‘At the end of this funny, well-written and sensitive book, the observers end up with fine portraits of themselves.’

SAMEER RAHIM
LITERARY REVIEW

‘Cross a puppy with a travel writer and you might get Henry Hemming. […] In another time and place, Henry and Al could have been like Tintin and Snowy, getting into entertaining scrapes. But world events overtook them, and this well written tale of artistic sincerity and youthful bravura is greatly enhanced by the fact that readers can see some of the resulting works online at www.henryhemming.com. This is a travel book that made me rush to my PC, but think twice about touring the Middle East.’

NIGEL TISDALL
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH

‘Piling into a battered Toyota pick-up truck, Hemming and his pal journey from the Czech-Slovak border to Baghdad, exhibiting their work in places such as Tehran and Muscat. […] Yet as they draw closer to their ultimate destination, a darker tone takes hold. Baghdad – ‘the Emerald City and Mount Doom rolled into one’, and putative centre of an artistic renaissance – is in the aftermath of war. To go there represents true danger – but guess who wouldn’t miss it for the world? Hemming’s account of his dilemma is truly gripping, and sums up that age-old travellers’ feeling: a heady mix of fear and anticipation. […] Misadventure in the Middle East is an engaging and highly readable account of a life-changing experience. Book of the Month.’

JIM BLACKBURN
WANDERLUST

‘Hemming makes a personable narrator for the journey – he clearly has heart and intelligence, as well as a much-needed sense of humour about himself and the potential pomposity of what he’s trying to achieve […] a great read.’

ALEXANDRA HEMINSLEY
THELONDONPAPER

‘[A] witty look at the area behind the headlines.’

THE TEN BEST TRAVEL BOOKS
THE INDEPENDENT

‘How’s this for a premise: two young artists fresh from university set out on an odyssey to the Middle East in a second hand Toyota pick up truck called Yasmine a year after 9/11, with storm clouds gathering over Iraq. […] I admit that this book made me feel old. I don’t share the brave yen for new horizons or the burning curiosity to find a genuine face for a region: a region, as Hemming puts it, caught between the Orientalist images of the past: sumptuous harems and cruel wizened infidels, and media images of the day showing stereotyped snapshots. But I’m glad someone has made this journey for us. His insights and observations on crossing borders and boundaries, whether physical or in the mind, make him an ideal guide. There is certainly a wonderful cast of characters; from members of royal families to villagers, artists, army officers, each with a unique and complicated vision of their home, what we would simply call “the Middle East”. […] There is something here to challenge everyone – whether it be watching sweaty middle-aged Arabs dancing with Asian prostitutes, or watching a Sufi communal ritual. […] we need more ambassadors like this, not less. […] So for all you frustrated explorers without the time or a pickup truck to spare, let Henry save you the trouble. Henry Hemming, I salute you!’

SALIM SALAJEE
EMEL MAGAZINE

‘A compelling read, well paced and laced with danger.’

THE AUSTRALIAN

‘An interesting, youthful perspective on politics and religion, art and humour, in a region which continues to be at the fulcrum of international affairs.’

THE NEW ZEALAND HERALD

‘Their journey is as much an artistic one as it is a physical. As they travel through Oman, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon, Hemming and his friend are irresistibly drawn to the recently fallen Baghdad which they view as the holy grail of the Middle Eastern art world. Their visit to the dangerous city is a highlight of their trip and also of this fascinating book which is well worth a read by anyone with a passing interest in the region.’

TNT

‘A combination of talent, luck, charm and boundless energy keeps them on the road. But they reach Baghdad soon after the fall of Saddam and find a tense and dangerous city. […] Displaying an enviable command of both mediums, Hemming fills the book with perceptive anecdotes and evocative descriptions.’

JEFF ROBSON
WEEKLY TELEGRAPH

Misadventure in the Middle East

Travels as a Tramp,Artist and Spy

*

‘When Henry Hemming set out in a pick-up truck called Yasmine to make a portrait of the Middle East, he had no idea what he would find or where he would be able to go – he wasn’t even sure how he would earn enough money to stay on the road for a year.

‘Hemming’s extraordinary journey takes him from the drug-fuelled ski-slopes of Iran via some of the region’s secret beaches, palaces, army barracks, police cells, nightclubs, torture chambers, brothels and artists’ studios to a Fourth of July party with American GIs in one of Saddam’s former palaces. Everywhere he goes his status as artist gets him into places he would not have been allowed otherwise.

‘As the invasion of Iraq intensifies, he realises that to finish his portrait of the region he must go to Baghdad and find the artistic renaissance there that he has heard about. In so doing he will risk his life. Throughout, he meets young people who share their dreams, doubts and passions, revealing a young and unpredictable Middle East that flies beneath the radar of nightly news bulletins. In these meetings, he also begins to understand what he himself represents, be it British spy, Muslim extremist, jihadi, tramp, bohemian, street-cleaner, Baghdadi, or, from time to time, artist. “Misadventure in the Middle East” offers a unique, evocative and highly original account of his journey.’

SHORTLISTED FOR DOLMAN BEST TRAVEL BOOK AWARD 2008
BANNED IN THE SULTANATE OF OMAN

‘The madness of his venture – driving around the region with a friend – and the freshness of his picaresque writing about this well-trodden part of the world makes it compulsively readable.’

ANTHONY SATTIN
THE SUNDAY TIMES

‘Hemming offers […] a refreshing innocence and openness, a voracious appetite for experience and encounter that make him an honest and empathetic writer. He is funny with it. He offers punchy insights into subjects from Al Jazeera propaganda to misconceptions about the hijab. An encounter with a drunken, wife- beating, philandering bin Laden supporter in Jordan on the eve of the Iraq war is particularly good. […] Hemming is a fresh new voice, idealistic, engaging and human.’

JUSTIN MAROZZI
THE SPECTATOR

‘A once-in-a-lifetime journey, full of youthful ebullience and idealism, but self-aware and brave too.’

COLIN THUBRON
AUTHOR OF SHADOW OF THE SILK ROAD

‘The brilliantly-written account of a daring journey, by turns hilarious and poignant, and a timely antidote to current misconceptions about the Middle East. Essential reading.’

JASON ELLIOT
AUTHOR OF AN UNEXPECTED LIGHT

‘‘What am I doing here?’ is a question that plagues all travel writers. But in this exuberant and thoughtful account of a rollercoaster journey through the Middle East in the aftermath of 9/11, Henry Hemming has a handy answer: his purpose is not to write a travel book, but to paint. […] Hemming and his fellow artist and travelling companion, Al Braithwaite, set off […] on a voyage of artistic discovery that lands them in a series of misadventures by turns comic, erotic, poignant and life-threatening. […] Hemming does not pretend to any specialist knowledge. But the young artist/writer has a sensitive grasp of the essentials. Why? Because unlike the diplomats, politicians and newspaper editors who have got the Middle East so tragically wrong in recent years, he’s out there listening and talking to people. As a result Hemming’s portrait of the region sparkles with colour, originality and sharp insights.’

TOM PORTEOUS
THE EVENING STANDARD

‘At the end of this funny, well-written and sensitive book, the observers end up with fine portraits of themselves.’

SAMEER RAHIM
LITERARY REVIEW

‘Cross a puppy with a travel writer and you might get Henry Hemming. […] In another time and place, Henry and Al could have been like Tintin and Snowy, getting into entertaining scrapes. But world events overtook them, and this well written tale of artistic sincerity and youthful bravura is greatly enhanced by the fact that readers can see some of the resulting works online at www.henryhemming.com. This is a travel book that made me rush to my PC, but think twice about touring the Middle East.’

NIGEL TISDALL
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH

‘Piling into a battered Toyota pick-up truck, Hemming and his pal journey from the Czech-Slovak border to Baghdad, exhibiting their work in places such as Tehran and Muscat. […] Yet as they draw closer to their ultimate destination, a darker tone takes hold. Baghdad – ‘the Emerald City and Mount Doom rolled into one’, and putative centre of an artistic renaissance – is in the aftermath of war. To go there represents true danger – but guess who wouldn’t miss it for the world? Hemming’s account of his dilemma is truly gripping, and sums up that age-old travellers’ feeling: a heady mix of fear and anticipation. […] Misadventure in the Middle East is an engaging and highly readable account of a life-changing experience. Book of the Month.’

JIM BLACKBURN
WANDERLUST

‘Hemming makes a personable narrator for the journey – he clearly has heart and intelligence, as well as a much-needed sense of humour about himself and the potential pomposity of what he’s trying to achieve […] a great read.’

ALEXANDRA HEMINSLEY
THELONDONPAPER

‘[A] witty look at the area behind the headlines.’

THE TEN BEST TRAVEL BOOKS
THE INDEPENDENT

‘How’s this for a premise: two young artists fresh from university set out on an odyssey to the Middle East in a second hand Toyota pick up truck called Yasmine a year after 9/11, with storm clouds gathering over Iraq. […] I admit that this book made me feel old. I don’t share the brave yen for new horizons or the burning curiosity to find a genuine face for a region: a region, as Hemming puts it, caught between the Orientalist images of the past: sumptuous harems and cruel wizened infidels, and media images of the day showing stereotyped snapshots. But I’m glad someone has made this journey for us. His insights and observations on crossing borders and boundaries, whether physical or in the mind, make him an ideal guide. There is certainly a wonderful cast of characters; from members of royal families to villagers, artists, army officers, each with a unique and complicated vision of their home, what we would simply call “the Middle East”. […] There is something here to challenge everyone – whether it be watching sweaty middle-aged Arabs dancing with Asian prostitutes, or watching a Sufi communal ritual. […] we need more ambassadors like this, not less. […] So for all you frustrated explorers without the time or a pickup truck to spare, let Henry save you the trouble. Henry Hemming, I salute you!’

SALIM SALAJEE
EMEL MAGAZINE

‘A compelling read, well paced and laced with danger.’

THE AUSTRALIAN

‘An interesting, youthful perspective on politics and religion, art and humour, in a region which continues to be at the fulcrum of international affairs.’

THE NEW ZEALAND HERALD

‘Their journey is as much an artistic one as it is a physical. As they travel through Oman, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon, Hemming and his friend are irresistibly drawn to the recently fallen Baghdad which they view as the holy grail of the Middle Eastern art world. Their visit to the dangerous city is a highlight of their trip and also of this fascinating book which is well worth a read by anyone with a passing interest in the region.’

TNT

‘A combination of talent, luck, charm and boundless energy keeps them on the road. But they reach Baghdad soon after the fall of Saddam and find a tense and dangerous city. […] Displaying an enviable command of both mediums, Hemming fills the book with perceptive anecdotes and evocative descriptions.’

JEFF ROBSON
WEEKLY TELEGRAPH

Misadventure in the Middle East

Travels as a Tramp,Artist and Spy

*

‘When Henry Hemming set out in a pick-up truck called Yasmine to make a portrait of the Middle East, he had no idea what he would find or where he would be able to go – he wasn’t even sure how he would earn enough money to stay on the road for a year.

‘Hemming’s extraordinary journey takes him from the drug-fuelled ski-slopes of Iran via some of the region’s secret beaches, palaces, army barracks, police cells, nightclubs, torture chambers, brothels and artists’ studios to a Fourth of July party with American GIs in one of Saddam’s former palaces. Everywhere he goes his status as artist gets him into places he would not have been allowed otherwise.

‘As the invasion of Iraq intensifies, he realises that to finish his portrait of the region he must go to Baghdad and find the artistic renaissance there that he has heard about. In so doing he will risk his life. Throughout, he meets young people who share their dreams, doubts and passions, revealing a young and unpredictable Middle East that flies beneath the radar of nightly news bulletins. In these meetings, he also begins to understand what he himself represents, be it British spy, Muslim extremist, jihadi, tramp, bohemian, street-cleaner, Baghdadi, or, from time to time, artist. “Misadventure in the Middle East” offers a unique, evocative and highly original account of his journey.’